Amazon Determined to Eliminate the Last Barrier Between It and Brick & Mortar Stores

Amazon is working on eliminating one of the last big advantages that brick-and-mortar stores have over the online retail giant: immediacy. Re/code reports that the Internet firm, which has already won battles in important arenas such as selection and price, is upping its bet on Prime Now.

The service makes available a limited selection of goods for one-hour or two-hour delivery. Prime Now “launched first in Manhattan and has been on a tear around the country since, launching in parts of more than 20 U.S. cities as it tries to take down one of the last barriers between Amazon and physical retailers,” the story reports. “More cities are expected to get Prime Now next year.”

The report quotes Prime Now General Manager Stephenie Landry saying that the company is working on expanding the Prime Now catalog as soon as possible. Said Landry: “There is some functional limit if we continue to do things the way we do them right now. But the company is really inventive.”